Nine of Swords/Knight of Pentacles.  The Nine of Swords (Mars, action, spontaneity, aggression, in Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, social, dual) represents brooding and worrying.  They may very well be a part of my day.  The Knight of Pentacles (cusp of Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical, and Virgo, “I serve,” practical, analytical, work and service oriented) tells of persistence to the point of being stubborn, and caution to the point of being boring.  I will need to be careful today or problems could result from carelessness; however, never lifting my nose from the grindstone is not the answer either.  What if I finally complete the task without pausing due to my panic and then look up, and find that I have been heading in the wrong direction all along? 

My Thoth card is the Three of Cups.  “Abundance.” The Three of Cups (Mercury, reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive tenacious, nurturing, moody) tells of emotional abundance, including fulfilling connections to others, as well as the presence of others who will support me in my travails.  If others don’t reach out to me first, I should take the initiative and extend my own hand in friendship and camaraderie.

My Legacy card is the Ten of Swords reversed, flavored by the Queen of Coins.  The Ten of Swords (the Sun, the inner core of a person or situation, in Gemini, “I think,” curious, sociable, dual, talkative) in an upright position is a card of interference and restriction.  Thankfully it is reversed, and it certainly is reassuring to see this one, with the Nine of Swords showing up above.  Even though I am worried, things will end up in a good place today.  The Queen of Coins (cusp of Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, blundering, and Capricorn, “I build,” ambition, caution, cunning, authoritative) is flavoring my Ten of Swords reversed, and it may end up being her resourcefulness and ability to nurture that saves the day.  She is good at breaking the confusion down to its simplest denominator, and that most likely will be just the ticket.

My 6-digit date number is 10, representing the end of a cycle, which reduces further to the number 1, polarity, potential and position.

My horoscopes: “It wouldn't be surprising if you enrolled in a class that's very different from your normal activities. For example, a surfer may get a sudden urge to learn about computers, or a technology guru might take up flower arranging. Those who think they have you all figured out will be taken off guard by your new spontaneity and sense of adventure.”

And: “Today marks the beginning of a new cycle for you. Collect and consolidate your recent ideas and focus them outwardly. The time is right for you to take action. Improve your immediate surroundings and adjust your bed so that it is facing east west. (A north-south placement will cause you to lose energy at night since it would align you with the Earth's magnetic field). Drink plenty of water to help keep your mind clear.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Ten of Swords.  This is not a very comfortable card.  Falling and feeling alone and without any possible assistance is not pleasant, but sometimes either our own choices or events outside of our control bring this unpleasantness to us.  If there truly is nothing to be done, then we must tighten our belts and endure.  This, too, shall pass, and when we look back on it as it fades away, perhaps it will not be as bad as it seemed at the time.

I am coming to the end of The Emerald Tablet, and the last sections are acting as a summation, and they are handling the loose ends.  The next section is “The scholars made this their path.”  Basically, this is saying that this is the path to knowledge and wisdom, or one path at least, and those who can travel the path and emerge at the other side could be considered scholars.  Or magicians, magickal workers. 

If the actual manifestation of effects is an innate part of Deity, and if Deity contains or is able to wield, or **is**, the powers of Nature, then so are we.  We each have the potential to learn how to wield these same powers.  In a lesser manner, true, but still, we can learn to work miracles by doing the work to understand the workings of Deity. 

So why not just explain what each of the parts of The Emerald Tablet mean?  Well, there are two reasons, I think, why the meaning is hidden.  First, the only way we can really understand all this, with our mind and our gut and our soul, and believe it all to be true with every cell and essence of our self, we need to find the meanings ourselves, meanings that ring true to us.  Second, as with all neutral powers that can be used for good or for evil, there need to be tests to be passed and thresholds to be entered; there needs to be strengths honed.  And the instructions for preparing to access the powers hinted at here are right in this document.

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